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Calgary Flames busiest Canadian team at NHL draft weekend

Deal for Travis Hamonic most head-turning move by Canadian clubs during the draft proceedings at Chicago's United Center.

The Calgary Flames anted three high draft picks for defenceman Travis Hamonic, but the 26-year-old has three seasons left on a relatively team-friendly contract. (Gene J. Puskar / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

For the third June in a row, Flames general manager Brad Treliving swung a big deal at the draft, this time landing 26-year-old defenceman Travis Hamonic from the New York Islanders. “He moves pucks. He’s a character kid. He’s got some bite to him,” Treliving said of Hamonic, who came at the cost of one first-round pick and two seconds.

One year earlier, Treliving sent two picks to St. Louis for Brian Elliott and a year before that, three picks to Boston for defenceman Dougie Hamilton.

Hamonic had a rough final season in New York. He battled injuries and struggled when he did take the ice. But a return to form would stabilize the Flames’ top four on defence — with Hamonic joining T.J. Brodie behind Hamilton and captain Mark Giordano.

“We like it on paper,” Treliving said.

Also appealing to the Flames was Hamonic’s contract, which has three years left with a potentially reasonable $3.86-million (U.S.) cap hit.

Beyond the usual dealing, the Flames used their top pick at the draft on Juuso Valimaki, a six-foot-two defenceman who had 61 points in 60 games for the Tri-City Americans this past season.

Here’s a look at what the other Canadian teams did in Chicago:

VANCOUVER

Top pick: Elias Pettersson (fifth overall)

Pettersson is a wiry Swedish centre who models his game after Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom. Vancouver wanted a playmaking centre who might one day feed Brock Boeser, Jonathan Dahlen, Nikolay Goldobin and some of the club’s other top prospects — many of whom are wingers.

GM Jim Benning lauded Pettersson’s ability to think the game and make others better, but a six-foot-one and 165 pounds he needs to add some muscle mass.

EDMONTON

Top pick: RW Kailer Yamamoto (22nd)

Edmonton, which had top 10 picks in each of the previous eight drafts, had to wait until 22nd overall this time around following the first post-season berth since 2006. Their top pick was one of the smallest players in the draft: five-foot-eight, 146-pound right wing Kailer Yamamoto, the WHL’s sixth-leading scorer with 99 points last season.

“I think there’s a lot of role models in the league now — Johnny Gaudreau, Tyler Johnson, Mats Zuccarello — those guys that have paved the pathway for a smaller guy like me,” said Yamamoto, who plays for his hometown Spokane Chiefs.

The Jets would have had the 13th overall pick, but that pick went to the Knights to protect veteran Toby Enstrom from selection in the expansion draft. Winnipeg got back the 24th selection and used it on Vesalainen, a six-foot-four Finnish winger who was named MVP of the under-18 world championship.

The Jets added eight more to the fold in this year’s draft, including 154-pound centre Skyler McKenzie, who tied for eighth in the WHL with 42 goals last year. “Guys that skate was definitely the theme for us,” said Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff.

MONTREAL

Top pick: Ryan Poehling (25th)

The Canadiens used two of their first three picks at the draft on centres, landing Poehling, an American attending St. Cloud State University, and Joni Ikonen, a Finn who totalled 41 points in 40 games in the Swedish junior league this past season. “I think he’s got more skill than people would give him credit for with his stats last year in the NCAA,” Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens vice president of player personnel, said of Poehling, who had 13 points in 35 games.

With the 199th pick, Montreal grabbed Cayden Primeau, an American goaltender and son of former NHLer Keith Primeau.

The club did not end up dealing Alex Galchenyuk, a restricted free agent on July 1.

OTTAWA

Top pick: Shane Bowers (28th)

Senators GM Pierre Dorion conceded that calls were coming in for Dion Phaneuf, but Ottawa ultimately held onto the 32-year-old defenceman.

Ottawa, which lost defenceman Marc Methot to Vegas in the expansion draft, had only four picks in Chicago after mid-season deals for Mike Condon, Tommy Wingels and Viktor Stalberg.

A Halifax native and Sidney Crosby fan, Bowers is a six-foot-two centre who tied for 10th in USHL scoring last year and is headed for Boston University in the fall.

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